Bayesian predictive modeling and comparison of oil samples

Statistical comparison of oil samples is an integral part of oil spill identification, which deals with the process of linking an oil spill with its source of origin. In current practice, a frequentist hypothesis test is often used to evaluate evidence in support of a match between a spill and a source sample. As frequentist tests are only able to evaluate evidence against a hypothesis but not in support of it, we argue that this leads to unsound statistical reasoning. Moreover, currently only verbal conclusions on a very coarse scale can be made about the match between two samples, whereas a finer quantitative assessment would often be preferred. To address these issues, we propose a Bayesian predictive approach for evaluating the similarity between the chemical compositions of two oil samples. We derive the underlying statistical model from some basic assumptions on modeling assays in analytical chemistry, and to further facilitate and improve numerical evaluations, we develop analytical expressions for the key elements of Bayesian inference for this model. The approach is illustrated with both simulated and real data and is shown to have appealing properties in comparison with both standard frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conductivity and water uptake of Sr4(Sr2Nb2)O11·nH2O and Sr4(Sr2Ta2)O11·nH2O

The hydrated oxygen deficient complex perovskite-related materials Sr₄(Sr₂Nb₂)O₁₁·nH₂O and Sr₄(Sr₂Ta₂)O₁₁·nH₂O were studied at high water vapour pressures over a large temperature range by electrical conductivity measurements, thermogravimetry (TG), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). In humid atmospheres both materials are known to exhibit protonic conductivity below dehydration temperatures, with peak-shaped maxima at about 500 °C. In this work we show that the peaks expand to plateaus of high conductivity from 500 to 700 °C at a water vapour pressure of 1 atm. However, in situ synchrotron XRPD of Sr₄(Sr₂Nb₂)O₁₁·nH₂O as a function of temperature shows that these observations are in fact coincident with melting and dehydration of a secondary phase Sr(OH)₂. The stability of Sr₄(Sr₂Nb₂)O₁₁·nH₂O and Sr₄(Sr₂Ta₂)O₁₁·nH₂O in humid atmospheres is thus insufficient, causing decomposition into perovskites with lower Sr content and SrO/Sr(OH)₂ secondary phases. This, in turn, rationalizes the observation of peaks and plateaus in the conductivity of these materials.     

Analysis of neutral and basic pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants and in recipient rivers using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry detection

Analytical method was developed which allowed for the detection of four beta blockers (acebutolol, atenolol, metoprolol and sotalol), an antiepileptic drug (carbamazepine) and three fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and norfloxacin) with a single pre-treatment and chromatographic method. The method included an isolation and concentration procedure using solid phase extraction, a separation step using high performance liquid chromatography and a detection procedure applying triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, which was working in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method was validated for ground, surface and sewage influent and effluent waters. Due to ion suppression in the electrospray source, the signals monitored for the analytes were less intense in sewage waters compared to ground and surface waters. The limits of quantification were as low as 1 ng L(-1) in ground water and 3.5 ng L(-1) in sewage influent. The method was successfully applied to the determination of the target compounds in raw and treated sewages of three treatment plants in Finland and in their recipient rivers. The results showed that many of the studied compounds pose a moderate to high persistency in sewage treatment as well as in the recipient rivers. The analytical protocol presented may be used for more in-depth studies on the occurrence and fate of these commonly used pharmaceuticals in the sewage treatment plants and in the aquatic environment.     

Matrix effect in the analysis of drugs of abuse from urine with desorption atmospheric pressure photoionization-mass spectrometry (DAPPI-MS) and desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS)

We have studied the matrix effect within direct analysis of benzodiazepines and opioids from urine with desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) and desorption atmospheric pressure photoionization-mass spectrometry (DAPPI-MS). The urine matrix was found to affect the ionization mechanism of the opioids in DAPPI-MS favoring proton transfer over charge exchange reaction. The sensitivity for the drugs in solvent matrix was at the same level with DESI-MS and DAPPI-MS (LODs 0.05–6 μg mL⁻¹) but the decrease in sensitivity due to the urine matrix was higher with DESI (typically 20–160-fold) than with DAPPI (typically 2–15-fold) indicating better matrix tolerance of DAPPI over DESI. Also in MS/MS mode, DAPPI provided better sensitivity than DESI for the drugs in urine. The feasibility of DAPPI-MS/MS was then studied in screening the same drugs from five authentic, forensic post mortem urine samples. A reference measurement with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) (including pretreatment) revealed 16 findings from the samples, whereas with DAPPI-MS/MS after sample pretreatment, 15 findings were made. Sample pretreatment was found necessary, since only eight findings were made from the same samples untreated.     

Simple and sensitive method for determination of glycoalkaloids in potato tubers by high-performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescence detection

A novel, simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of the potato glycoalkaloids, alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine, based on the chemiluminescent reaction of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) has been developed. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 5 ng/ml-10 microg/ml for both alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine. The detection limits of alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine were 1.2 and 1.3 ng/ml, respectively. This method was successfully applied to a potato tuber sample without cleanup, pre-concentration, and derivatization steps. The recoveries (mean +/- standard deviation, %) of alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine spiked in tuber pith at 10 microg/g (n = 6) were 101.0 +/- 4.4% and 103.6 +/- 7.1%, respectively.     

Bead-based immunoassays with microelectrode detection

The suitability of a microelectrode as the detector for a small-volume, bead-based enzyme-labeled immunoassay for later use in a microfluidic device was investigated. The microelectrode helps to overcome consumption of the electroactive species by the electrode (depletion) that is encountered with macroelectrodes such as the rotating disk electrode (RDE) and allows the volume of the detection cell to be reduced. Microelectrodes also allow the chemical reactions to be monitored in real time due to the electrodes close proximity to the assay site. A bead-based sandwich immunoassay for mouse IgG was developed with alkaline phosphatase (AP) as the enzyme label, p-aminophenyl phosphate (PAPP) as the enzyme substrate, and microelectrode detection. The diffusion coefficient of the product of enzymatic hydrolysis, p-aminophenol (PAP), was determined to be 7.2±0.9×10^–6 cm² s^–1. The detection limits were determined for free (0.52 ng mL^–1) and bead-bound AP (10 ng mL^–1). The number of binding sites for AP per bead was calculated to be 9.6×10⁴ molecules/bead, and under saturation conditions the minimum detectable number of beads was 2500. Lower detection limits could be achieved with the microelectrode than the RDE while maintaining similar reproducibility. The microelectrode also made it possible to work with lower sample volumes (down to 10 L) than with the RDE (minimum volume of 40 L). Depletion of PAP was not observed with the microelectrode. The results obtained here with a microelectrode showed great promise for later use of microelectrodes in microfluidic devices with limited sample volumes. RDE detection cannot be used in a microfluidic system due to its complex set-up that includes a motor for rotation.Abbreviations: Ab Antibody - Ag Antigen - AP Alkaline phosphatase - NSA Nonspecific adsorption - PAP p-aminophenol - PAPP p-aminophenyl phosphate - RDE Rotating disk electrode - NSA Nonspecific adsorption - PBS Phosphate-buffered saline